Darnay Holmes shaping up to be a key piece of the NY Giants defense

It’s early in the preseason but NY Giants rookie cornerback, Darnay Holmes, already looks like he will be a key component on the team’s defense in 2020.

Forgive me, I know it is still extremely early in the NY Giants preseason, perhaps too early to get overly excited about a player’s performance. However, due to the pandemic, I have been sports deprived which is leading me to pay closer attention to the happenings in camp for the GMEN.

Even taking into account that it may be a bit premature to get too hyped about any performance, it is difficult to deny that what Giants fans have seen from this year’s fourth-round pick Darnay Holmes.

Early on, it appeared Holmes may be a fit for the slot cornerback position because of his excellent speed and agility, coupled with the fact that 2019 first-round pick Deandre Baker was expected to start opposite newly acquired veteran cornerback James Bradberry, with Sam Beal serving as a backup.

However, Baker is lost for the season (and perhaps forever) due to a suspension stemming from armed robbery charges brought against him. Meanwhile, Sam Beal has opted out of the 2020 season due to concerns over COVID-19. As a result, the NY Giants now have a gaping hole opposite Bradberry.

The team was reportedly close to signing former Giant Ross Cockrell to a free-agent contract, but the deal fell apart at the 11th hour, once again leaving the team with a hole at the other outside cornerback position.

As a result, the NY Giants have been using Holmes in both the slot cornerback and outside cornerback roles.

So far, he has been impressive in both positions and even had an interception of Daniel Jones, while covering Golden Tate, in the first scrimmage of the preseason for Big Blue.

Holmes is a player who received massive praise from perhaps the best player to have ever manned the cornerback position in the National Football League, Deion Sanders. During the 2020 NFL Combine, Sanders was quoted as saying “The best guy that I’ve seen thus far has been Darnay Holmes…he looked flawless, unbelievable.”. That’s extremely high praise from the Hall of Famer.

It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Holmes emerge as a playmaker at the cornerback position. After all, he led the UCLA Bruins in interceptions in all three seasons he played with the team.

Holmes led the PAC-12 Conference in interceptions returned for touchdowns in 2017 and was second in the category in 2018. Additionally, he was top-10 in the conference in interceptions both of those years and was sixth in the conference in forced fumbles in 2018.

New head coach of the NY Giants, Joe Judge, praised Holmes following his strong performance in the team’s first scrimmage. Judge was impressed with his competitive nature, his attentiveness, and his constant improvement so far in camp.

Judge was quoted as saying “He’s a real competitive guy that comes to work every day with a full head of steam”.  He also added “I’m not surprised to see him improve day by day.” and “I’ve been pleased to see how he comes out every day and competes. I’ve been pleased to see his energy and enthusiasm on the field, and that competitive nature definitely shows up”.

Ideally, the NY Giants will sign a veteran cornerback to start at the outside cornerback position opposite of James Bradberry, or Corey Ballentine will take a major step forward to claim the role.

That would allow Holmes to make better use of his skills at the slot cornerback position, a position that has been a liability for the Giants for multiple seasons.

However, if early signs are any indicator, the NY Giants may have found themselves a playmaker in Darnay Holmes, who could be a key component of the defense for years to come. After years of seeing the cornerback position be an area of major liability that is music to the ears of Giants fans.